All-Local Thanksgiving Produce Boxes for Donation to Hunger Relief Agencies through Farm Fresh RI
Providence, RI — Nonprofit local food hub Farm Fresh Rhode Island is working with the local community to donate Thanksgiving Boxes full of locally grown produce to Rhode Island hunger relief agencies this season. These boxes will help make the holiday special for Rhode Island families in need, and is in line with Farm Fresh RI’s operating principle that everyone deserves access to fresh, nutritious food. Short of a turkey, the Thanksgiving Boxes feature everything a family of 8 needs for a Thanksgiving meal including fresh herbs, a wide variety of locally grown vegetables, and even a pumpkin pie!
As Farm Fresh’s Director of Giving, Nikki Ayres, explained, “Food has the power to transform. A hot meal—prepared with love—on a holiday surrounded by family is a gift that is hard to quantify. Support from the community to donate these boxes will not only mean the world to the families who receive them, but also to the small local farms we are purchasing the produce from.”
Farm Fresh RI has been offering their popular Local Thanksgiving Boxes for sale since 2020, selling out every year. This is the first year the organization has added an option for customers to donate a box when they place their order—which will double the amount of local food they purchase from small farms this year. Farm Fresh is also working directly with local businesses that want to sponsor higher quantities of boxes. Their goal is to donate a total of 250 boxes to hunger relief agencies, which will feed around 2,000 people this holiday season.
This year’s Thanksgiving Box will include:
– Pumpkin pie from Wright’s Dairy Farm & Bakery in Smithfield, RI
– Brussels Sprouts from Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon, MA
– Carrots and Parsnips from Four Town Farm in Seekonk, MA
– Celery from Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland, MA
– Local Cranberry Sauce made by Harvest Kitchen in Pawtucket, RI
– Delicata Squash, Onions, Sweet Potatoes, and White Potatoes from Schartner Farms in Exeter, RI
– Butternut Squash from a local farm (TBA)
– Fresh Herbs from Allen Farms in Westport, MA
– Leeks and Shallots from Zephyr Farm in Cranston, RI
– Whole Baby Bella Mushrooms from RI Mushroom Co. in West Kingston, RI
Boxes are $85 each, for purchase or to donate, and the order form closes on Monday, November 6, 2023. Anyone interested in donating boxes or purchasing them for their own holiday feast can learn more at farmfreshri.org/thanksgiving.
About Farm Fresh Rhode Island
Begun in 2004 as a student thesis project at Brown University, Farm Fresh RI has grown briskly to capture the public interest in locally grown food and translate it into sales for RI farmers and producers. Strongly mission-driven, Farm Fresh achieved 501c3 status in 2007, and has since implemented a variety of programs to enhance the local food system of the New England region, with particular attention to farm viability and low-income access to fresh food. Farm Fresh RI operates a wide range of marketplace programs (retail, wholesale, gleaning, processing, hunger relief) that engage and connect Rhode Island eaters with local farmers and producers. Learn more at farmfreshri.org